Can servers take payment at the table?

Yes. Stripe Terminal readers work tableside from a supported iPad, so the check, the tip and the close all happen without a walk to the station.

Are reservations and the waitlist extra?

No. Reservations, the waitlist and guest notifications are part of the platform, not a separate booking subscription bolted to the POS.

What is the commitment?

Month to month, on every plan. Toast commonly asks for two years and Clover for three; we would rather earn the next month than hold you to the next thirty.

Do you charge per server?

No. Every plan includes unlimited logins, so seasonal swings in the dining room do not change the subscription.

Built for the dining room

A two-year contract for software you can leave in a month.

The floor plan, the reservations book, the kitchen screens and the servers are all one system here — priced flat, month to month, with every seat included.

Two- and three-year commitments before you know if it fits
Per-server and per-employee fees as the dining room staffs up
Reservations and waitlist as a separate product
A monthly licence for each expo and line screen

Start free See all plans

Run your own numbers against Toast

Pre-filled with a typical full service restaurant. Change anything — including which vendor you are comparing.

Card sales per month$85,000

Average sale$42.00

People who need a login

Kitchen / kiosk screens

3Your own devices

Screens are your own. ArkSlate runs on approved iPads, Android tablets, Stripe readers and Star printers — we sell no hardware and charge no per-screen software fee. Competitors licence that same screen by the month.

Compare against

Toast

Starter plan · cheapest that fits

Software subscription$0.00
Free tier
Extra user seats$0.00
Unlimited users
Scheduling & time clock$252.00
18 staff × $9.00
Per-screen software (KDS/kiosk)$0.00
3 screens, no licence fee
Online ordering$75.00
Add-on
Card processing$2,420.07
2.49% + $0.15 × 2,024 sales

Software$327.00

Processing$2,420.07

Total / mo$2,747.07

Contract: 2-year minimum

ArkSlate

Growth plan · cheapest that fits

Software subscription$99.00
Growth plan
Extra user seats$0.00
Unlimited users
Scheduling & time clock$0.00
Included
Per-screen software (KDS/kiosk)$0.00
3 screens, no licence fee
Online ordering$0.00
Included
Card processing$2,242.38
2.40% + $0.10 × 2,024 sales

Software$99.00

Processing$2,242.38

Total / mo$2,341.38

Contract: None — month to month

You would keep

$4,868/yr

versus Toast, at $406 a month — before counting the inventory, accounting and unlimited seats they charge extra for.

Start free — no card required

Both sides quoted at that vendor's cheapest tier for this setup, using published list prices as of August 2026. Card-present rates only; keyed and online rates differ. Hardware is bought separately on every platform — ArkSlate sells none. Where we were unsure whether a vendor charges for something, we assumed they do not.

What you get on day one

Floor plan, tables and tabs

Open a tab, move a party, split a check by seat or by item, and hand off between servers without reopening the whole ticket.

Reservations and waitlist included

Take bookings, run the waitlist and text guests when the table is ready — in the same system that seats and rings them.

Coursing to the right station

Fire courses to line, grill and expo screens independently, on as many approved tablets as the pass needs.

Every seat, every hire, one price

Eighteen staff or forty-eight, the subscription does not move. Per-employee pricing is how a good quarter turns into a bigger bill.

Tips, scheduling and labour

Tip handling, scheduling and the time clock feed straight into the P&L, so labour lands against the covers that earned it.

Leave whenever you like

Month to month. If it is not working in week six, you are not carrying it for another twenty-two months.

The kit for a full service restaurant

We sell no hardware. We certify a short list of commodity devices, guarantee they work, and support only what is on it — which is how support stays fast and your gear stays replaceable on a Saturday.

Server stationsSupported iPads, wall-mounted or handheld

Card readersStripe Terminal readers, including tableside

Receipts & ticketsStar CloudPRNT thermal printers

Line & expo screensAny approved tablets — no per-screen software fee

Full service restaurants, specifically

Also built for

Coffee shops Food trucks Quick service restaurants Retail shops Hot tub & pool service Field service

Try it on your own numbers

Free to start, no card required, and no contract to sign your way out of.

Start free Talk to us